Countdown
by Freak3
Summary: As if he wasn't busy enough, Yusuke has a secret admirer, a cranky mother, and Genkai's out of tea! And now theres a big rebellion in the Makai to deal with. But why didn't Koenma know about it? *Pleez R+R! I swear it's good, so read!!*
1. Preface

Standard (really long and dull) disclaimers apply. In short: I own NOTHING but a few characters, but wouldn't it be neato supremo if I did?  
  
Story Legend: 'present thoughts' *emphasis, dreams, memories, letters, etc.*  
  
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The wind moaned through the trees as Hiei wiped the last of the youkai blood off on the newly dewed grass. The twenty or so demons had only been low C-class in attack, but they had fought in formations that the smaller youkai had not anticipated, so the fight had taken longer than expected. Hiei hated getting dewed on. It made his clothes stick and his skin itch as it dried. Suddenly, a soft humming noise caught his attention and he flung his sword up just in time to catch two ki-filled orbs connected by a thin string. The bolas sent shock waves up and down the weapon hard enough for the fire demon to fling away his sword, lest his bones be shattered. Halfway through the air the blade broke into a thousand pieces and the air was filled with the tinkles of shards hitting the ground. "Jao Ensatsu Ken, " he growled, charging up his fire sword and blurred through the trees, intent on killing his new enemy.  
  
It was a low B-class demon, a few inches taller than Hiei, standing with his arms around one of the fallen. When Hiei entered the clearing he let go of the corpse and stood to face him. Hiei could trace fear and sorrow in his blue glass eyes, his white skin was lined with the blood of his companion.  
  
"You killed all of them?" he asked in disbelief.  
  
"It wasn't hard," Hiei answered in his usual monotone.  
  
"Wasn't hard? Of course not; these were not fighters, they were farmers searching for better lands! You didn't even give them a chance, did you?"  
  
"They were rebels and my orders were to kill them," he replied. "And you."  
  
Terror filled the white demon's eyes and he began to edge away. "No, not here," he pleaded. "I've worked so hard, please. Don't kill me here. Anywhere but here." He dodged a strike from the shorter demon, but the fire sword still struck deep into his thigh.  
  
"Please!" he shouted out again. He fell to his knees clutching the wound.  
  
"You're just making it harder." Hiei smirked and struck again, this time a deep gash in his enemy's protecting arm.  
  
"No! I can't die here. You don't understand! I don't want to lose my..."  
  
Hiei stepped up to him, pinning him against a tree. "I don't know what you're talking about and don't have the patience to find out," Hiei cut in. "Good bye." And he pierced the demon's heart.  
  
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Yusuke was less than pleased. The letter had no name or address, hearts all over it, and the gall to tell him the he, Urameshi Yusuke, was the single cutest boy this side of Hawaii. He threw it away.  
  
The second letter came in a similar manner, except this time stuffed into his locker. He threw it away again.  
  
The third letter soon lay unopened and spit upon in the bottom of the school dumpster. By now his aim was getting pretty good.  
  
Out of sheer boredom he actually opened the fourth letter.  
  
*Dearest Yusuke, love of my life!!!  
  
I can bare this torment no longer! I long to throw myself into your arms, run my fingers through your beautiful hair, feel your hand upon my hand, your lips upon mine...I cannot live without you, Yusuke! I will wait atop the school today after class, and wait longingly for you, my love.  
  
--Eternally yours, Your Secret Admirer*  
  
Yusuke almost laughed out loud in the crowded hallway. He had no intention of meeting anyone on top of the roof today, or any day for that matter. He crumpled the heart-covered paper into his pocket and walked off to another boring class.  
  
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"Lord Koenma, what are you still doing in your office?" Ophelia asked. "This is your day off, remember?"  
  
"Yes, I remember. Thank you Ophelia, I'm just finishing up here, only one more paper to sign." The godling looked around his office appreciatively. It looked so big now that all of the paperwork had been squared away, oddly empty. "And it's all thanks to you, Ophelia, you know that. I'd like to thank you, that new proclamation you had my dad sign has really got this place running smoothly again."  
  
"Oh, no need to thank me, Lord Koenma, the pleasure's all mine. Here let me take a look at that," she bent over his desk to look at the lone paper. "Oh," she said suddenly, "I can file this for you, if you like. Where do you keep the L's?"  
  
"Over there. Thank you," he added.  
  
"No, the pleasure's all mine," she smiled at him. 'She looks about my age when she smiles', Koenma thought. 'No, a little younger'. "By the way, I just love the varnish on your desk. It's such a warm shade of red," she said.  
  
"Yes, I guess it is rather nice, isn't it. I've never really noticed it before. But hey," he teased. "You'd better not be planning to put in curtains or anything like that. I like my office just the way it is, thank you, without all that girly stuff."  
  
"No, Lord Koenma, I would never dream of remodeling your office. But I would like to put in this clock, if you'll let me. I found it last week and have just been dying to put it up somewhere." He gave her a reproachful look.  
  
"Ophelia..." he started, but she cut him off.  
  
"Oh, please, Lord Koenma, just this one little thing? Please?" she smiled at him again.  
  
"All right, have it your way. But nothing else, you hear me. Now," he changed into his teenage form, "I'm going to take a little walk around the gardens. I'll just leave you and your clock alone, if you'll lock up after your done." He got up to leave.  
  
"Oh, going somewhere fancy?" she remarked, admiring his change. "Well, you be on your way. As soon as I'm done with this I'll lock up. Have fun, see you tomorrow Lord Koenma."  
  
"Yes, goodbye, Ophelia. I'll just see you tomorrow then," and he left her to hang up the clock.  
  
'Things have certainly changed with Ophelia around', he mused. And it was true. She was so new at the job, yet in just two weeks had found a way to give the entire staff a day off every week. If he had been mortal he might have caught up on lost sleep, or mused on some of his dreams, but immortals can't do that. He had been taught that from day one. Sure, they could fade out, but it wasn't the same as sleeping. He had never dreamed in his life, but he was still pretty content he realized. Maybe even happy. He began to whistle as he walked toward the gardens.  
  
He stopped to look at some forget-me-nots, their perfect shade of blue. It reminded him so much of the clear blue sky, or the way the Ningen ocean used to look before it became polluted. Or, even closer to home... but he wouldn't let himself think about that. He watched them sway a little in the breeze and then moved on to another planter.  
  
This one had daffodils, bright yellow ones in full bloom. They reminded him of Ophelia. She was so strange, appearing out of the blue one day a few months ago. She was a Phissut, a type of demon living out in the far reaches of the Makai. They are usually very quiet, but Ophelia was so loud and full of energy that she had struck a friendship with almost everyone in the office before being shown in to Koenma's office by George himself. He remembered just moving over a particularly large stack of papers and being confronted by her bright yellow eyes. He had nearly jumped out of his seat. She had started laughing. He could hear it in his head now...  
  
*"And just what is so funny?"  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry. It's just your expression, I guess I startled you, huh? I'm Ophelia."*  
  
She had stuck out her hand and asked for a job right away. He remembered George telling him that she was a very good person, that she'd be a great help to the staff. They were short on help so he took his word and hired her. But not a week later Enma had learned about her and tried her out himself. And now she was his personal assistant.  
  
But she hadn't changed one bit. Except for her hair. The day she asked for a job it had been loose to her shoulders, a perfect compliment to her periwinkle skin. Now her ebony locks were done up in a more conventional ponytail, but high like Botan's. In fact, if he pictured her right, she looked almost exactly like Botan... But he couldn't think of that right now. It wasn't right, just a fling, it was springtime after all.  
  
Then why did his heart get tighter all of the sudden?  
  
He moved on to another planter, but the carnations in these were the same blue as before and he moved quickly onward. He came to a corner with a bench and decided to sit down. Why not when he had a whole day to spend outside?  
  
His thoughts turned back to Ophelia. She was so hard working and dedicated, he wished Yusuke were like that. He hadn't seen Yusuke in a while, now that he thought of it. The Makai had been relatively silent for a while. Paperwork had been down, partly because of Yusuke, partly because of the proclamation. He should visit Yusuke; he still has a good ten hours.  
  
"Oh Lord Koenma!" a familiar voice sounded. He looked up to more forget-me-nots, or were they just carnations?  
  
"Lord Koenma, are you okay?"  
  
"Yes Botan, I'm fine. Just thinking. I'm gonna go visit Yusuke, do you want to come?"  
  
"No, thank you though. I have another call in just a few minutes, but I was surprised to see you here."  
  
"I guess the proclamation doesn't make the dead stop dying for a day, does it?" he teased.  
  
"Oh yah, the proclamation. Guess you owe Ophelia a lot, huh?" she said with obvious distaste.  
  
"What do you have against Ophelia?" he asked, concerned that the two weren't getting along. It wouldn't be good if his two colleagues didn't get along. "Nothing, nothing," she insisted. "It's just that you spend a lot of time around her and I don't really think... well, it doesn't matter anyway." She looked down at the garden path sadly, the skirted past the demigod to answer her call.  
  
"Botan, wait." He grabbed at the sleeve of her kimono. "You don't have to worry about me. She isn't a sorceress or anything, I'm not gonna do anything stupid, ya know?"  
  
"Yah, I know." But she still looked sad.  
  
"Listen, Botan, are you sure you don't want to come to Ningenkai with me? We wouldn't have to visit Yusuke. We could... um... go for some ice cream, we haven't had ice cream since Hiei tried it, remember? Or we could go visit Keiko's shop, or Genkai and Yukina? I visited them a few weeks ago, but they wanted to see you. Come on, what do you say? It would be fun, and it's only for one day."  
  
"No, I'm sorry Lord Koenma..."  
  
"Just Koenma, please. Botan, you're one of my closest friends and I'm Lord six days of the week as it is, give me a vacation. And you don't need to lower you eyes, you've never done it before." He smiled at her but she was still looking at the ground. "Botan?"  
  
"No, Lor... Koenma. I'm sorry I just can't take the day off like you can. Like you said, Ophelia's proclamation doesn't stop the dead from dying and I still have another few calls before the end of my shift. It was... nice seeing you," she said, turning to walk back down the path.  
  
Koenma looked down in frustration. What had she been so upset about? He stamped his feet a few times and racked his brain for an answer. Maybe it was just a female thing. He gave up when he noticed a lone rain drop on the path. 'Hmm... must be starting to rain. Better get inside soon. I hope its not raining in the Ningenkai'. He hurried back down the path toward the safety of his office building. There was a portal in there that he could use.  
  
It took him only a couple of minutes to get back to the building and through the portal to the busy Ningen world. Unknown to him, though, the day up in the Reikai remained pleasant, and was still dry when Ophelia finished putting up the clock and walked outside, exhausted, to fall asleep on the bench in the corner of the garden. 


	2. Chapter 1

Story Key: 'present thoughts' *emphasis, dreams, memories, letters, etc*  
  
Standard disclaimers apply  
  
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*A lone snowflake drifted past his eye and he looked up into the cloudy gray sky. Someone was waiting for him up there. He could feel it. It was silent except for the wind blowing all around him, he noticed it was faintly cold. A chill went up his spine, the world turned gray with the sky and more snowflakes fell past him. Above and below, there was no floor but he was not floating, he was... just there.  
  
A faint crying noise reached his ears, he searched for the source but could find no one. Only empty gray. The sound had been near to him filling the space in the back of his head, but now it drifted far away like the snow, only it got louder as it left him and began to echo along the cold empty gray as if there were walls. But the snow fell everywhere and past as far as he could see in any direction.  
  
A scream rent the air echoing along with the weeping sounds. It seemed like it would go on forever - he began to sweat.  
  
"Hello?" he yelled into the air. "Is anyone there?" But his own words soon expanded and echoed like the other sounds.  
  
"Help," a weak voice sounded somewhere in the distance. It too bounced along the invisible walls. "Help me." Only echo's. More voices began to beg at him, more screams and cries. A car horn broke through to his senses and pain washed over him. He heard voices calling to him.  
  
"Is he all right?"  
  
"Is he hurt?"  
  
"Will he live?"  
  
"I'm sorry." It felt like glass breaking inside his skull. He fell to his knees shaking as the voices abruptly fell silent. He could almost feel the shards of air around him falling.  
  
And then he was on the ground, cold stone beneath his shaking palms. Cold suddenly filled him. A picture of Atsuka crying on the floor rose from the depths of his memories.  
  
Flashes of light jolted past him as more pictures came up. Genkai praying in her shrine, Keiko searching for something, Botan yelling out someone's name. But after the first onslaught of sound no others came.  
  
Hiei and Kurama running, searching for something lost. Koenma fingering through an ancient tome, Keiko cutting flowers. Now they shifted and blurred.  
  
Koenma held Botan close as she cried on his shoulder, Kurama waiting for something through his rain-spattered window. Genkai sitting alone in the temple. Yukina crying in her room with Hiei standing at the doorway. Keiko cutting flowers.  
  
The last one stayed with him for a long time. Then she started to look up in his direction tentatively, as if searching for something not quite there. After a while her picture closed in on him and she open her mouth to speak.  
  
"Traitor," a low voice spoke out. It was soft but un-nerving, and not directed at him at all.  
  
"You were always too weak. It couldn't be helped."  
  
New voices rang out from a distance, growing steadily louder.  
  
"Help!"  
  
"...never much use..."  
  
"Problem... much too..."  
  
"...sorry."  
  
"No! You can't!"  
  
"I need..." Silence. Black. A lone candle burned beside him casting a tiny orb of light in the pitch-blackness of the room. Another car horn sounded.  
  
"Yusuke!"  
  
"No, please don't!"  
  
"You can't!"  
  
"...too dangerous."  
  
"Traitor!"  
  
"Murderer!"  
  
"I hate you!"  
  
"I need..." Again the chaos broke. This time Yusuke began to yell.  
  
"Shut up already! Who are you anyway? Where are you?"  
  
"You think you can run my life?" a soft voice asked him.  
  
"What's going on? Where is everyone?" More voices joined in the melee.  
  
"I'm lost."  
  
"Has anyone found my..."  
  
"Murderer!"  
  
"Help, somebody, anybody!"  
  
"I need..." Silence.  
  
"I need..." A long pause followed. He could only hear his own breathing, a rattling sound deep in his chest. He wiped the sweat off his brow and tried to stand on his shaking legs.  
  
"YUSUKE!" Keiko's voice cried at him. Pleading with him to stay.*  
  
"I need more sake."  
  
He sat up with a start. From head to toe he was covered in sweat. He lay thankfully back on his pillows with a sigh, 'Thank God it was just a dream'.  
  
"Yusuke, can you hear me in there? I better not have to get up, my head hurts like hell ya know!" Oh yah, the party last night. It must have been some weird hangover dream. But he really hadn't had that much to drink, only a bottle or two. And his head didn't hurt today, not like Atsuka's.  
  
"Yusuke! Don't really make me come in there," Atsuka's blurry voice called out from somewhere in the next room.  
  
He heaved himself up from his futon, "All right all ready. What do you want?"  
  
"I need more sake. And some food and aspirin. Quickly." He heard her moan and fall back onto the couch.  
  
"All right, but I need to take a shower first." The water would feel nice on his sweaty skin he reasoned.  
  
* * *  
  
And it did make sense he realized, running his hands through his wet hair, that the dream meant nothing. Two bottles of sake on an empty stomach can do weird things to a person's brain. He pulled his towel loosely around his waist and reached for his hair gel. 'Maybe I should go check up on Keiko though. I haven't seen her in a while'. He tried to pour some gel onto his hand, but it wouldn't come out.  
  
"Oh man, don't tell me you're empty now!"  
  
*Ring*  
  
"Yusuke, get the phone!"  
  
"Since when do we have a phone?" he called back as he hurriedly pulled on some boxers and a pair of pants from the floor.  
  
*Ring*  
  
"We've had a phone since we moved in, you dummy! From the fire insurance on the old place, remember?"  
  
*Ring*  
  
"No," he whipped up his comb and started combing his hair.  
  
"Just get it already, jeez what do I have to put up with to get some service around here?"  
  
*Ring*  
  
"All right, I'll get it, just hold on." He dodged around some junk and scrambled out of his room, following the annoying ringing sound to a beat up phone stuffed under the table.  
  
"Hello?" he spoke into the receiver as he levered the rest of it onto the table.  
  
"Yusuke," an old voice spoke up, "there's a crisis on my hands and I need your help."  
  
"Who is this?" It sounded oddly familiar but... nah! I couldn't be...  
  
"This is Genkai you asshole! I need your help!"  
  
"Genkai? But... when did you get a phone?"  
  
"That's not important at the moment. What is important is that I'm in a lot of trouble and I need your help. In return I'll train you, but I fear there might not be much time for that anymore."  
  
"But you always train me! What good'll that do?"  
  
"YUSUKE!!! I'M OUT OF TEA! I NEED SOME MORE!"  
  
He paused, letting it sink in. Then laughed. A lot. When he was finally able to control himself again he chuckled into the phone, "So just go up to the store and buy some."  
  
"I can't, it's against my morals. Plus, if you do it, it'll get you up here so I can train you. And I feel that soon enough you'll need all the training you can get. Now, I need: Earl Grey, English Breakfast, Irish Breakfast, Darjeeling, Chai, Green Tea, Oolong, Camomille, Rosehip, Apple, Ginger, Constant Comment..."  
  
"Wait a minute, I need to get some paper, or something!" He grabbed at a pencil Keiko had left over, then grabbed a piece of crumpled up paper from somewhere.  
  
"Black Tea, Black Pekoe, Orange Pekoe, Orange Spice, Orange Zinger, Lemon Zinger, Lemon Tea..."  
  
"Wait a minute!" he cried. "Start over, I need to write these down you old bag!"  
  
She paused, then chuckled. "So, you're to slow for me are you? Then I'll try to slow down... for you sake. Now, starting over I need Earl Grey. You got that?"  
  
"Yes, I have Earl Grey."  
  
"English Breakfast, Irish Breakfast... oh, maybe I should have started with the decafe blends..." Yusuke groaned.  
  
* * *  
  
The soft air conditioning in the store left a nice tingle on his skin after the hot mid-day sun. It had taken him a whole half hour to copy down all of Genkai's tea's and about ten to walk to the store, so he reasoned it was about one o'clock in the afternoon. There was something about today he was supposed to remember he knew that but could not remember what it was. 'Oh well', he reasoned. 'If it's really that important it'll come back to me one way or another'. He mingled around the isles picking up his hair gel and some breath mints before making his way to the cooking isle to get the tea.  
  
He pulled out the list as he went, checking on what he needed. "Let's see now, cinnamon? Got it. Raspberry? Got it. Tension Tamer and Sleepytime? Got it. Blackberry and Jasmine? Okay. World Peace tea? When did they come out with that? Got it." Time went on.  
  
He finally made it to the counter, laden with a shopping cart full of tea.  
  
"Will that be all sir?" a familiar voice asked.  
  
"Kuwabara?" he looked up to the carrot haired oaf. "What are you doing here? Behind the counter? Who was stupid enough to hire *you* to count other people's money?"  
  
"Shhh Urameshi, or you're gonna get me fired." He put a finger up to his mouth and lowered his voice. "If you must know, Shizuru said that I had to get a job or she would kick me out of the house, so I asked the old man who runs the store and he said he needed some help with the register. He's an old family friend."  
  
"Yah, well. Good luck making money and all, but that apron and cap look horrible! Green is definitely not your color." He took out his list again to make a last minute check while Kuwabara ran them all through the auto-pricier.  
  
"Um...Licorice? Check. Lavender? Check. Brisk? That's the stuff in the can's, right?"  
  
"Uh, yah..." came a half-hearted reply. Kuwabara seemed pre- occupied.  
  
"Mint Medlee? Hm... must be for Yukina. If Genkai drank that once in a while she wouldn't stink so bad, huh?"  
  
This time there was no reply. Yusuke put the paper down to see what was going on, but Kuwabara snatched it back up and started reading the back of it.  
  
"Hey, wait a minute! I thought you were with Keiko. Who's this other chick?"  
  
"What? Hey, let me see that." He snatched it back from Kuwabara. A series of hearts met his eyes. He groaned, "Oh no, I thought I threw this away!"  
  
"So you do have a secret girlfriend, eh Urameshi? Well it's my solemn duty now to report it to Keiko now, ya know? As a friend." He grew serious.  
  
"Hey man," Yusuke countered," you've got to be kidding. You can't tell her, it's not what it looks like. I don't even know who this chick is!"  
  
Kuwabara narrowed his eyes at Yusuke, then broke out into horrible laughter. "Ha ha ha! You didn't actually think I was gonna tell her, did you? Oh God, that would have been fun to watch you get pummeled by her, though. But," he drew himself up to his full height and once again grew serious, "you should break it up with this girl, whoever it is. It's really not fair to anyone, ya know, to be left in the dark."  
  
"Where'd ya learn that? Your sister?"  
  
"No, Yukina said it. Ya know, if I didn't know any better, I'd say that Hiei had his tiny little eyes on *my* Yukina, the way he's been following her around lately."  
  
"Really? He really has been?" Yusuke wondered how Kuwabara still didn't know about the fire demon's hidden connection to Yukina. "Well, I've gotta go up there to deliver this junk to Genkai anyway. Thanks for the news, bye!" he called out behind him as he sprinted out the door of the shop and into the sun, turning a street corner and disappearing from sight.  
  
"Wait a minute, Yusuke!" Kuwabara cried out behind him. "You haven't paid yet for all that tea yet! Yusuke! YUSUKE!!!" * * *  
  
Yusuke laughed out loud as his friend's voice grew weaker and he felt the wind rush past his face. He stopped a little ways down the street to enter a park and began to whistle. It was a very nice day. The birds were singing on the telephone poles and the sky was a perfect shade of blue.  
  
"Yusuke, wait up!" a voice called from behind him. It couldn't be Kuwabara, he was back at the store. And if it wasn't Kuwabara, then who was it?  
  
"Yusuke!" he turned to see a young man in cloak and tunic running to catch up to him.  
  
"Koenma?" he said uncertainly as the man stopped by his side, breathing heavily. "What are you doing here? Oh no," Yusuke felt his carefree spirit melt away, "Don't tell me it's another mission. We just got done with the last one." He groaned.  
  
"Yusuke, you're a worry wart, you know that?" Koenma grinned as he stood up a little straighter. "Don't worry, it's just my day off."  
  
"You get days off?"  
  
"It's, uh... a new thing."  
  
"So you decided to grace me with your presence?" He looked questioningly at the godling before him. Koenma nodded. "Man, if you're gonna hang out with me you gotta loose the pacifier. And get some new clothes! You look like you just walked out of Comic-Con!"  
  
"Comic-Con?"  
  
"Don't ask. Um... okay, we'll stop by my place and pick something up for you. Oh, and," he gestured to the bag in his hand, "I've gotta take a quick detour at Genkai's before I show you the sights."  
  
The godling looked bewildered as Yusuke began to walk back the way he came. "Yusuke, I have no idea what you're talking about. And what's wrong with my clothes?"  
  
* * *  
  
Kurama walked up to Yusuke's door and knocked politely, his arms laden with paper and pencils he knew Yusuke didn't have. He had started trying to tutor him a few months ago, at his insistence, but so far it hadn't worked out that well. Like today, where was he? He knocked again, this time a little louder.  
  
"Who's there?" a blurry voice called. The door opened a little and Atsuka's head peeped wearily out of the crack. Kurama smiled through gritted teeth. Where was Yusuke?  
  
"Is Yusuke home?" He asked.  
  
"Yusuke? What would a pretty thing like you want with Yusu... oh! You're that girly-man! Say, you're pretty good friends with Yusuke, right?" She smiled drunkenly at him as he started to back away.  
  
"Um... yes, you could say that. Where is he?"  
  
"He and his friend went out a little while ago."  
  
"What friend? Kuwabara?"  
  
"No, the other one, the brown haired one with the weird tattoo right... there." She pointed at his forehead clumsily.  
  
Koenma? But why? "Did they say where they were going?" he asked hopefully.  
  
"Uh... Genker's."  
  
"Genker's? Where's that?"  
  
"Uh... no. Gonkii's? No, that's not right. Umm... Gernatt's?"  
  
"Genkai's?" he added hopefully.  
  
"Yah, that's the one!" she slumped gleefully against the door, then straightened up and squinted at him.  
  
"Hey, could you do me a favor?"  
  
"Uh..." he racked his brain for an excuse.  
  
"Yah. Could you go to the store and get me some saki? And rice? And Aspirin? The Aspirin would be good, God my head hurts. That bastard son of mine came home with 50 kinds of tea, but not one box of Aspirin! Can you believe it?" she gazed up at him hopefully.  
  
"Umm... that's too bad, but I just thought of somewhere I need to be, so bye now, good luck!" He smiled his most charming smile and dashed of to Genkai's before she could stop him.  
  
* * *  
  
Botan sighed with regret as she walked away from the Prince of the Spirit World. Couldn't he see how much she had wanted to go with him? But she couldn't, it wasn't in her contract. And he was right, no proclamation can *ever* stop the dead from dying. She reached one arm up to summon her oar and the other to brush away a stray tear, pretending it was a lock of hair. She couldn't blame Ophelia for trying to help the staff as much as she could, but there just seemed to be something wrong about not including the ferry guides. No one had ever even so much as glanced at the complaint to put the guides into shifts for time off. It didn't seem fair.  
  
"Oh well," she said, already feeling a steady rush of wind from her ascent into the Rekai sky's. Quickly she leveled out and headed for the Makai portal, where she knew her next client to be. At least there was always plenty of fresh air, she reasoned, unlike in Koenma's stuffy office. She reached into her kimono to pull out her schedule book.  
  
"Hmm, let's see." She quickly opened the magical tome. "Looks like near the outskirts of Mukuro's lands, a B-class demon named Karess. Killed by the hand of... hey! Wait a minute!" The golden spirals of writing began to fade, leaving the page perfectly clean without a mark on it. "That's never happened before," she pondered worriedly. "Must have been some kind of mistake or something. Okay, well," she cleared her thoughts, "let's see who's next, huh?"  
  
She veered out of the Makai portal and into the Ningen one, still pondering the mysterious fade. Perhaps the demon was saved and would have otherwise been unexpectedly killed? Then why would she have been expected? No one had ever been unexpectedly saved before. 


	3. Chapter 2

Story Legend: 'present thoughts' *emphasis, dreams, memories, letters, etc.*  
  
Apology in advance to any Texans! Gomen nasai (or however you spell that)!  
  
Standard disclaimers apply  
  
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"Well that's a change," an aged voice announced.  
  
Koenma crossed his arms defensively. "It was Yusuke's idea."  
  
"Hey, don't say it doesn't look better than his old outfit. No offense Koenma, but tunics and cloaks went out of fashion a long time ago."  
  
The godling hunched his shoulders in despair. "You could have at least let me pick out that JR shirt, instead of this... thing." He picked at the off-white tee shirt with obvious distaste.  
  
"I couldn't let you wear that! That was Keiko's shirt! You looked gay!"  
  
"Did not, it looked fine. And what was Keiko's shirt doing at your house?"  
  
"Enough about shirts, where's my tea?" Genkai demanded, stopping any further details from coming to light.  
  
"Right here," Yusuke handed her the brown grocery bags containing the precious pre-packaged herbs. The old woman grabbed at them, then sat down and began rummaging through. "Let's see now. Slippery Elm, Special, what's this? Coffee? Oh, no, just Coffee Tea, all right. Hey, where's my Redneck Tea?" she demanded, glaring at Yusuke from under the piles in front of her.  
  
"I couldn't find it."  
  
"Where did you look?"  
  
"The tea isle, where all the other tea's were. Jeez, you'd think one kind would be enough."  
  
"No, what store did you look in?"  
  
Just then Kuwabara appeared, panting, at the door. "He looked in my store... and didn't pay!" he added.  
  
"You own a store?" Genkai asked.  
  
"I work now," Kuwabara explained triumphantly.  
  
"I looked in the store by my house, where else?" Yusuke looked dubiously at his sensei.  
  
"Your house! Redneck Tea is a special Texan blend! You can't find it just any old place!"  
  
"Texas? That's in America! I'm not going all the way to America for your tea!"  
  
"You will and you'll like it."  
  
"Well how am I supposed to get there?"  
  
"I don't care, ask Botan for a ride. It's about time that ferry girl did something useful around here..."  
  
"Hey, don't insult Botan..." Koenma began, but it was clear the crone was already distracted and glaring fixedly out the window.  
  
"Hiei! If you don't tell me why you've been in my Ginkou tree so much lately I will ward it to death!" she pointed a finger at the figure past the glass. "Don't think I won't young man!" The youkai glanced at her and blurred into the room, hands behind his head. He began to walk toward Yukina's room.  
  
"I have my own reasons," he stated bluntly.  
  
"Hey, shrimp! What are you doing, spying on my Yukina! You'd better not have your beety little eyes on her or I, the great Kazuma Kuwabara, will have to vanquish you!" The large carrot-topped man struck a valiant pose, ready to summon his Rei Kan at any moment.  
  
Rather than accept the invitation to spar, the small youkai merely laughed. "You are naive," he said with his usual dismissive tone and continued walking.  
  
"Why has Hiei been here lately?" Yusuke asked Genkai.  
  
"I don't know, but it has something to do with Yukina, I'd bet anything on that."  
  
"I bet he's taken a fancy to her!" Kuwabara cried out. "Well, I'll just have to teach him a lesson!"  
  
"Not so fast, come and help me sort out these tea's, Kuwabara! Whoever gave you a job was an idiot, but I guess it was *you* who packaged them so untidily?"  
  
"Well yes, but..." he hesitated, then looked a Yusuke for help.  
  
"I think you'd better do it, Kuwabara," his friend put in. The carrot-topped giant sighed and sat down beside his sensei while Yusuke and Koenma took the time to sneak off to Yukina's room.  
  
* * *  
  
When they entered the neat little room Hiei was standing by the open side door, watching Yukina play in the courtyard with some temple birds. Yusuke sidled up to him quietly.  
  
"So, what have you been doing around here lately?"  
  
"Watching Yukina," he replied nonchalantly.  
  
"Why?"  
  
The smaller demon looked up at Yusuke, "Are you always so nosy? No, don't answer that. If you must know I'm making sure she's alright."  
  
This put Yusuke on guard. "From what? Is something going on in the Makai?" If there was then why hadn't Koenma sent them on a mission already? He looked over to the obviously puzzled demi-god.  
  
Hiei looked over as well; "You should be able to answer that." He went back to watching Yukina, a small smile etched into his expressionless features.  
  
"I have no idea," Koenma said, which made Hiei turn his head back to the conversation.  
  
"So you're not even looking at the files of the youkai I kill? I'd have thought you would be mad with me, wasting your time." It was a well known fact that because Hiei was a 'Special Case' Koenma had to look at exactly why he had killed each and every one of his victims.  
  
"I didn't know you had killed anyone recently."  
  
The youkai thought about this for a while, then shrugged. "Then something's wrong with your system." He once again turned away to Yukina, who was feeding her friends.  
  
"I'll have to look into that, thank you Hiei..."  
  
"But why," Yusuke cut in, "did you have to kill so many youkai?"  
  
"Rebellion in Mukuro's borders."  
  
"Rebellion?"  
  
"Mass migration that no-body wants. I'm done here." He flitted up into the trees to follow Yukina as she said hello to a few ground squirrels.  
  
Yusuke looked over to Koenma, who had a serious expression on his face, then groaned. "Don't tell me this means another mission!"  
  
"Not yet. But I do have to get back to Reikai and see about the unknown rebellion. I'll use the temple's portal, it's fastest."  
  
"Don't you even have time for a movie or something?" Yusuke asked hopefully, but Koenma shook his head.  
  
"I'm sorry, but I have to go now. Goodbye Yusuke, I'll remember to wear these... clothes next time I come down." The godling walked out into the courtyard, then turned into the inner sanctum of the temple, where the portal was kept. Yusuke stomped his foot in frustration, then lifted his head again. He would ask Kurama to help with interrogating the hotheaded fire demon, leaving him with a free day to hang out at the Ramen shop. It sounded perfect, no body could get through to Hiei like Kurama could, except maybe Yukina, but she never asked the right questions.  
  
With this thought in his head Yusuke silently gave himself a pat on the back, then marched proudly out into the main room where Kuwabara was still helping Genkai with her teas. He gave a thumbs-up to his harried friend, then an idea came to mind and he turned to Genkai.  
  
"Hey, Genkai, when you were talking to me on the phone..." Kuwabara guffawed at the notion of Genkai having a phone, but a look from her made him refrain from commenting. "Why did you say '...I'll train you but I fear there may not be much time for that now'? Do you know something about the rebellions in the Makai?"  
  
"No, I just train you every time that Hiei starts coming by because usually you go on a mission soon after."  
  
"You mean he comes here every time there's a disturbance in the Makai? But why?"  
  
"To protect Yukina."  
  
"Wait a minute," Kuwabara interrupted. "Why is he protecting Yukina? I'm the one protecting her!"  
  
"Shut up Kuwabara, and finish sorting my teas," Genkai scolded. She turned back to Yusuke. "I don't know anything about 'Rebellions', but maybe Kurama does. In any case, it's too late to train you now that Koenma's been informed."  
  
Both Yusuke and Kuwabara grew sullen at the thought that another mission was close at hand. Yusuke sighed and shook his head, then straightened up again. "All right, I'll go ask Kurama what he knows."  
  
"What I know about what?" a voice intoned. The boys and Genkai looked up to the figure at the door.  
  
"Do you know anything about the rebellions that Hiei has been talking about?"  
  
"No, but I'll ask him if you'd like." At a nod from Yusuke, Kurama began to walk knowingly toward Yukina's room, stopping to shove a pile of books and papers into Yusuke's arms. "Good luck on your exams," he added cheerily before leaving them in the room.  
  
"Oh yah! That's what I was supposed to remember! Kurama was gonna tutor us today! Oops," he said sheepishly, then snapped his fingers in glee as a thought came into his head. "I'll go ask Keiko for help."  
  
Kuwabara leaped at the suggestion. "Yah! I'll go too, anything to get out of this place." He looked over at Genkai, "Sorry I can't help you with your teas." And he ran out the door after Yusuke, leaving a very annoyed Genkai behind.  
  
"Humph," she muttered, then turned back to sorting.  
  
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Kurama skirted the edges of the trees slowly feeling for Hiei's ki. At last he found it, waiting beneath a nearby tree. He silently crept up beside him as he watched Yukina and beckoned for him to follow as the youko went deeper into the forest. Once they were deep enough not to be heard, Kurama stopped in a neat little thicket beside his favorite pool. The half korime had come quietly and now leaned against the trunk of a large maple, observing his companion.  
  
"You look tired."  
  
"I haven't been sleeping well lately. And Yusuke left me alone with his mother," he chuckled at the thought and, surprisingly, Hiei did too.  
  
"Hiei, Yusuke said something about rebellions in the Makai. What was he talking about?"  
  
"So, he sent you to ask me?" And the youko's nod he turned his head but continued. "All occupants of the Farlands are trying to move into territories, and no-body wants them. That's all."  
  
The youko studied him for a moment; "Do you know why?"  
  
"Common rumor is plague." He looked up at Kurama before continuing. "Another is that ferry girls aren't being allowed in. The fact that Koenma doesn't know about the death toll is proof." Kurama gave a little gasp; it was ruled by Enma himself that all souls left alone after the traditional Week of Mourning disappeared.  
  
"And you feel you have to protect Yukina?"  
  
"I've created a name for myself among the immigrants. Yukina and I, it's not the best kept secret anymore if you know who to ask."  
  
Kurama nodded, then stepped up and placed his hand on the fire- demon's shoulder and looked at him straight on. "Hiei, why is it that you only talk to me and Yukina? Don't you trust Yusuke at least?"  
  
Hiei averted his eyes to the waterfall at the back of the pool. "Hn. Would you rather I didn't talk at all?"  
  
Kurama looked down and smiled to himself. "Fine, you're right. It's good you talk at all." He squeezed the smaller youkai's shoulder, muttered a 'thank you', and walked back to the temple. It sounded serious, Koenma would be calling on them soon, he knew it. It sounded like, for the first time, Yusuke and Kuwabara would encounter a real Makai city or two. It would be... interesting to say the least.  
  
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Sorry it's so rough, I didn't have time to edit much because I'm going on a trip for a week. I wanted to actually get the plot going in this chapter. Thank you to those who reviewed.  
  
Also, for Hiei fans: I love Hiei, but cannot write well from his perspective because of his puzzling persona and complex thought pattern. Sorry, I'd love to be able to tell you some of his thoughts farther along in the story but it would be really OOC (out of character).  
  
Keep R+R-ing! 


	4. Chapter 3

Standard disclaimers apply  
  
Story Legend: 'present thoughts' *emphasis, dreams, memories, letters, etc*  
  
To clear up confusion: I'm sorry, I meant I can't write Hiei from his perspective (I love reading from Hiei's perspective), but can write about Hiei from someone else's perspective. OK, onto the story!  
  
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Koenma sat back with a sigh and sunk deep into his chair. His research had seemed futile. There had been no masses of death anywhere in Makai, and no reports of rebellion or war. Mukuro's borders had been completely clear the last few days now, he would have to send down spies to get a better look at the situation.  
  
"Lord Koenma, *what* are you doing here so late?" a startled voice asked. He looked up to the Ophelia's daffodil eyes. She smiled winningly at him, leaning over the desk, head resting on hand.  
  
"I'm just reading up on some things for my friends," he replied.  
  
"Today?" she asked. "Today of all days you had to work? It's your day off!"  
  
"Yes, but the other six days I need to sign documents." He stood up from his chair. "Besides, it is important."  
  
"Really? What is so important you can't do it tomorrow? There's not that much paperwork, deaths have been down lately. Oh!" She clamped her hand to her mouth as if she had just given away a terrible secret.  
  
"Deaths have been down?" He grabbed her shoulders roughly. "What do you mean by that?"  
  
"Oh, George said you'd be worried. It's just a lull, happens all the time!" she said. "After all there isn't a plague, famine, or war anywhere in either the Ningenkai or the Makai right now. Pretty soon it'll pick back up again, I'm sure."  
  
He relaxed his hold on her. "No wars, are you sure?"  
  
"Positive... uh, what made you ask?"  
  
"Nothing, nothing. Look, Ophelia, I've had a long day. I think I'm ready for a good long fade out, so if you'll excuse me just a moment..."  
  
"Oh Lord Koenma, I almost forgot!" She pushed him playfully back into his chair and sidestepped to give him a better view of the far wall. "Tada!" She declared, pointing excitedly to the space above his T.V. "So, how do you like it?"  
  
Koenma looked appreciatively for a moment at the small bronze clock, "It looks... nice. That's the same clock you wanted to put up earlier? It looks different somehow."  
  
"Oh Lord Koenma," she waved away his statement jokingly. "Of course it's the same. It just looks different now that it's up."  
  
"But, how did you get it up? There are no studs in that wall, you know."  
  
"Oh, uh... just a little trick. Um... Lord Koenma, what do you, uh... how come there are no studs in the walls? They look solid enough to me." The look on her face was that of pure confusion, but there was also interest in her tone so he decided to go into detail on the subject. He felt proud to know such an important thing about his home world.  
  
"Well, the first thing you must know is that there is nothing but Spirit Energy, reiki, holding this place up. In fact, the entire building is not only supported by it, it is built out of it." She glanced around her appreciatively before he continued. "You see, everything here, the walls, the spirit books, the flowers, even the food is made of and thrives on reiki. There's nothing else here." He paused, letting it sink in. "It helps stem the supply of reiki. All remaining reiki, which is a good sum, is carried by the River Styx and poured equally into the other two worlds. As you know, the supply given to Makai is well used, but the supply given to Ningenkai is rarely used because not many Ningens know how to use it. Yusuke and his crew find it easier in Ningenkai to train not only because it's more relaxing than the Makai, but because it's easier to attain the reiki needed in that world than in Makai."  
  
"So is that why Ningenkai is so wanted by demons?" Ophelia asked, clearly confused.  
  
"One of the many, yes. I personally think they're going about it the hard way though, because the Ningenkai keeps expanding and there are much easier planets to at least start out on than Yusuke's."  
  
"But why don't they just take over more land in Makai if the two worlds keep expanding?"  
  
"Because only Ningenkai expands. If it didn't expand, the Ningenkai would have become a living ki ball ages ago from the unused reiki. This way it has a place to go. In the Makai it is used up well enough that the world doesn't need to expand to accommodate. In other words, the land's all used up there. Borders are established already." He broke off and yawned, then blinked a little. He was about to continue when Ophelia stopped him.  
  
"Look at you, you're about to fade out right here! Why don't you go lie down now, I shouldn't have kept you this long, gomen." (gomen - I'm sorry) She bowed a little, then turned away and began walking out of the room. "Remember, you need to get up early tomorrow!" She smiled at him, then turned the corner. He stared at the door for a moment before getting up and following suit, turning the other way down the corridor to his private chambers. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------------  
  
Kurama tapped his pencil thoughtfully on his desk and looked down at the foreboding math problem. Calculus was certainly a difficult subject, but sadly required if he was to become an architect. It was the perfect ningen job for the youko, like building a den except much grander. But the challenging questions on his paper seemed so small compared to his ideas yet so big in his everyday life, that he was beginning to question the worth of them himself. He just couldn't concentrate. 'I wonder what Koenma's going to do about the migrations,' he wondered, then chided himself. He had to think about he math.  
  
But it was too complicated for right now, with the thought of a mission just days away. His put his finger near a small ivy-like plant on his desk and fed it his ki, then began playing with it, making the vine twist and turn as it grew. 'Why didn't Hiei tell Koenma what he told me? Why didn't he tell anyone else? Why does he only talk to me? Is there something...' A sudden gust of wind distracted him and he turned toward his window just in time to see the black blur enter quietly and land on the end of his bed. He stifled a chuckle before getting up to close it, "Don't get too comfy now, Hiei."  
  
The fire demon gave him a quizzical stare, "What do you mean, fox?"  
  
"Never mind. What brings you here, I thought you were with Yukina?"  
  
"The old lady warded the Ginkou tree."  
  
Another stifled chuckle. "And you couldn't sleep on the roof? Or in a bed?" The fire demon gave him a reproachful look.  
  
"It's not as comfortable. Besides, she said she'd take care of Yukina."  
  
"And you trusted her?"  
  
"Why not? She has skill enough for any demons trying to attack the shrine. Unless Koenma alerts us about one there's nothing to worry about."  
  
"I'm glad you trust her."  
  
"I think you underestimate me, fox. I trust no one but myself. I thought you already knew that."  
  
"Then why..." a look from Hiei silenced his next thought. "Well, it's getting a bit cold for sleeping outside. You can sleep here, if you'd like, but you'd probably like to go to Makai, huh?"  
  
The smaller demon thought carefully about this for a moment. "Why? This close to a mission I could be called back to the Ningenkai tomorrow. Besides, it's safer here and I'm closer to Yukina. And if Mukuro knew I was back she'd put me on a different mission so I might as well stay here."  
  
"Well, if that's the way you fell, then make yourself at home. I have to finish my homework, but you can go to sleep and I'll take the chair."  
  
"Whatever, fox."  
  
"Goodnight Hiei." A muffled 'Hn,' came from under the sheets. The youkai must have been more tired than he had thought. He turned around and stared through the glass at the stars for a moment before retreating back to his desk. Something was odd about Hiei tonight, if only he knew what.  
  
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Yusuke tapped his pencil irritatedly. Why Keiko had to visit her country relatives he would never know, but now he was stuck in a room full of testing people without a word in edgewise. 'Maybe I should have just stayed home.' He thought mournfully to himself. But that would have left him listening to Atsuko whine about aspirin. So he had gone grudgingly to the school and fell asleep in his first class, skipped his second and third, and decided to make a final graceful appearance in fourth before skipping out of it all together. Of course, fourth period just had to have a test. Of course he hadn't studied, he had forgotten about Kurama and Keiko was off in the country somewhere. She wouldn't be back for a week.  
  
The bell rang, startling him out of his thoughts. He looked up to the clock. 'I'll just get my bag from my locker and get out of here.' The thought propelled him swiftly out the door and down the long hallway to the lockers. Other students were there, either taking or leaving books behind before jaunting off to their next cell of the day. 'Ah, freedom is good!' He practically skipped up to his own metal box, but the sight that met his eyes made him stop short.  
  
Jammed into the grills on the locker was a perfectly white piece of paper, decorated with hearts. He could just make out a neatly looping letter or two on the fold of it. Pulling it carefully out of it's metal casing, he gingerly opened the love letter:  
  
*Dearest darling Yusuke!  
  
At first I hadn't believed that you would just leave me at school all alone, but then I realized that the invitation had been a little bit too hurried, and you probably needed to fit something as important as our date into a less crowded time. Sadly, my parents are dragging me off to Hawaii and away from you, but I'll meet you next Tuesday at...*  
  
He broke off reading the note. If this cheerleader thought they were going to win the heart of Urameshi Yusuke, they would have to be pretty sneaky. This girl definitely needed some hard core lessons. Who cared where she was *not* going to meet her next week? Let her learn the hard way. He stuffed the letter quickly into the nearest trashcan before he gathered up his things and left school for that day.  
  
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OMG!!! I'm really sorry that it took soooooooooooooo long to write that chapter, it was filler as you can see. And it's not even as long as the other chaps! Hopefully I'll be able to get these chaps up sooner. Till then, happy halloween!!!!!!!!!!!! (I'm gonna be a kitty!) ^_^ 


	5. Chapter 4

Standard disclaimers apply  
  
Story Legend: 'present thoughts' *emphasis, dreams, memories, letters, etc*  
  
I'm afraid Mukuro might be OOC in this chapter because I have never actually seen her in the show (I can't read japanese), but I tried to research her and make it as good as possible, gomen.  
  
Oh yah! If anyone sees OOC things in the story TELL ME and I will do my best to change it.  
  
^_^ enjoy!  
  
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Bright light sifted through the gauzy curtains and into Koenma's room. He loved 'coming back' like this, slowly watching the pale orb rise into the misty skies. He sighed contentedly as it passed over the top of his windowsill and rolled onto his side, preparing himself for getting out of his soft bed. An unseen bird twittered playfully through the wall and into his ear, it looked like another normal day.  
  
*THUD, THUD, THUD! * "KOENMA-SAMA! KOENMA-SAMA MAY I PLEASE COME IN! IT'S IMPORTANT KOENMA-SAMA!"  
  
Koenma cringed and buried himself half-heartedly under the crimson sheets. "Come in, George, but please, stop that banging!" The blue oni opened the large doors and carefully slammed them closed before hurrying over to his master's side.  
  
"There's something wrong with the ferry girls, Koenma-sama. I'm sorry for waking you up but Botan said it was urgent, that you should come immediately." The demon paused to catch his breath. "I suggest you hurry over there, master. Botan's telling the girls not to collect any souls until you talk with them. They're really scared, I think. And you know what will happen with your father if the daily souls aren't collected." George looked helplessly at Koenma.  
  
"Do you have any idea what this is about?" questioned the god-ling. The blue man shrugged. "All right, I'll go. You, go and start stamping some of the less important papers while I sort this whole thing out. It better not be a mouse or something," he grumbled, then he waved away the faithful demon and slid out from between his comforting sheets. The cold wooden floor beneath his feet only made him more irritated. Why couldn't it have been a normal day?  
  
* * *  
  
On the way down the corridor to the ferry girl's chambers Koenma passed by a mirror. He looked at himself sidelong and considered for a moment, then shook his head and changed into his teen-age form. Again he looked into the mirror, nodded in acceptance, and continued toward the morning's spontaneous meeting.  
  
* * *  
  
"Koenma, this way!" Botan ushered him down some corridors and out into the gardens surrounding the guides' portion of the Reikai. The building was shaped like an 'O', a huge complex that housed the hundreds of ferry guides. Usually the place was almost silent during the day, being used by only the guides that were catching a nap or taking a break before tending to their next customer, but today he could see at least a score of girls hanging around the front doors. Apparently waiting for him because they looked up and followed Botan and the godling as they went through. Before being pulled into the lobby Koenma saw anxious faces peering out of their windows or standing on their balconies. Even more faces presented themselves looking down at him from the inner balconies, most rushing down stairs to join the godling and his curious escort. Soon they passed though another pair of doors leading to the large courtyard in the middle of the complex. The benches here were filled with worry; even the sidewalks were lined with faces that followed in his growing wake. As they passed through more doors on the opposite side of the courtyard the halls and corridors were filled with faces: standing, sitting, bored, worried, seeming to get more crowded as they got closer to Botan's destination.  
  
Soon they were in a room. One girl sat crying on her bed while two more tried to comfort her. The crowd outside grew quiet, every ear straining to listen.  
  
"Botan, what is going on?" Koenma asked grumpily. A girl named Celene stood up and handed Botan a leather bound book. He recognized it as a ferry girl's soul list. Botan nodded appreciatively at her before opening it hurriedly and shoving it into his hands, pointing at the open page. It was the first one in the book.  
  
"Look, Koenma! This is Akia's collection list today." The demi-god looked doubtfully down at the page, there were only about twenty names on it.  
  
"But that's impossible. Your quota per day is fifty," he said matter-of- factly.  
  
"I know, we all do. And Akia's isn't the only one! All of our lists are down by about two or three, but Jiniko's has only forty on it and Ginger's is down by twelve!"  
  
"That's impossible, Botan. 'Nothing stops the dead from dying.'"  
  
"Exactly! Yesterday I actually saw a name disappear off of my list before I had collected the soul, and now Akia's sick. Why aren't our books giving us our quota's?"  
  
"I don't know, I'll have to look into the matter."  
  
"Koenma, this is important! If we don't have any souls to collect we vanish! It's in the contract!" Botan looked frantic.  
  
"I know, I know. Where does Akia specialize?" The ferry girls worked on a grid. They each took souls from all over the place, but most of the souls that they took were from a specific region. They were each given a square, or more precisely an oval, to specialize in. Each girls region was half overlapped by two others, so, in effect, every half oval was two girls' specified region and each girl had two, one in the Makai and one in the Ningenkai.  
  
"In the Ningenkai she specializes in Firenze (Florence to Americans). It's in Italy."  
  
"What about in the Makai?"  
  
"The Farlands."  
  
"What about Jiniko? Where in the Makai does she specialize?" He was beginning to get worried.  
  
"Parts of Mukuro's borders."  
  
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It was all connecting. Hiei was killing, but he didn't know. Now no souls were coming from the same region. He had immediately called up Kurama and questioned him about his interview with Hiei.  
  
* "And what did he say?"  
  
"He said that the ferry girls aren't being allowed into the area."  
  
"Get Hiei up here now. And come with him. This does mean a new mission you know."  
  
"I was afraid of that. Should I get Yusuke and Kuwabara as well?"  
  
"No need for that. Not yet, I need to ask you about your knowledge of the territory you will be looking into."  
  
"To the best of my knowledge both of us are unused to the inner Farlands. Very few things of interest ever happen there."  
  
"Then maybe one of you might know a guide."*  
  
Hiei had known someone, a swordsmith name Kayle. They had gone back down just a few minutes ago to get Yusuke and Kuwabara and pack some things. It was all connecting.  
  
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Kurama had decided to stay at Genkai's that night to prepare for the oncoming mission. Now he sat in Hiei's temporary room, which he had grudgingly taken to spend his last night in Ningenkai nearer to his sister. Genkai's wards were still in place, she had been very strict about their removal: * 'Never until you start doing something useful around here!'*  
  
He was lying on the bed (Hiei was out with his sister) staring through the open doorframe to the shadows of moths being projected onto the hallway wall from Genkai's prayer candles. The crickets chirped happily outside and the fire in the room flickered merrily in its place. His mind was always at ease right before this type of mission. What was the use of worrying? He didn't even know what was going to happen. Every thing seemed to be calm and ready and happy in its own little way. The only thing he was still unsure of... was the blur that just entered the room.  
  
"What are you thinking about, fox?"  
  
"Things."  
  
"What kind of things?" He leaned against the doorframe, waiting.  
  
"Just things."  
  
"Your face gives away more than your mouth. What's wrong?" The smaller youkai frowned.  
  
"Hiei, do...I..." he paused, catching the words in his mouth. "Hiei, do you mind if I ask you a couple questions?"  
  
He nodded.  
  
"Hiei, are you...um... are we friends?" The smaller youkai's eyebrow rose in question. "What I mean is, do you do these missions just because you have to, or are we really friends?"  
  
"Well, I wouldn't do *the missions* at all if I didn't have to."  
  
"Do you love your sister? I mean really love her?"  
  
Hiei stared at the floor, then at his partner. "What has gotten into you, fox?"  
  
"Do you think you could ever love someone as much as you love Yukina?"  
  
"Not in the same way, no. Could I? Yes. Do I want to? I'm weak enough with Yukina already. I don't need other distractions. Why?"  
  
"I think..." He got up from the bed to stand in the doorframe, facing away out into the night, "I love someone."  
  
"And?"  
  
"And I don't think... they'll ever love me back." Suichi looked down, then up again at the sky. "I think I'm going to take a bath now." He stepped out and quickly disappeared into the forest, heading for his favorite pool. Hiei watched after him, then sighed and climbed onto the bed, leaving the door open to the cool night breezes.  
  
"Hn." He quickly fell asleep.  
  
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* * *  
  
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"I don't see why we need a guide," Kuwabara complained loudly as he shifted the light pack onto a more comfortable place on his back.  
  
"I mean, we've always just roughed it before, why not just do what we've always done?"  
  
Kurama finished checking his own pack before slinging it up onto his shoulders. "Because either Hiei or I have at least had some experience in those areas before. Neither of us know anything about the inner Farlands and it would be stupid just to set out on a mission like this without knowing anything about the place."  
  
"It's not your normal hit and run kind of mission. We don't even know what we're going to do yet. Questioning Mukuro will be our first objective. After that we can decide what to do." Hiei flitted casually from the windowsill to the ground, carrying his own pack. "Come on, let's get going, otherwise we'll be spending two nights in the city instead of one."  
  
Yusuke looked up from his position on the floor to where Koenma stood in his child form.  
  
Koenma nodded, "Follow me to the portal."  
  
"Why not just make our own?" Kuwabara voiced loudly.  
  
"Because it is not safe for a ferry guide to make a temporarily stable connection anywhere near Mukuro's territory. Remember, this... seal has spread a little even in the last week according to our spy network, and we still don't know anything about it. Only that the ferry girls can not pass beyond a certain point in the Makai anymore. You will be using the permanent connection straight into Mukuro's castle and pass through it into the city."  
  
Passing through a doorway to a large courtyard the five friends stood before the three portals connecting Reikai to the other worlds. Two portals buzzed happily in the air, waiting for someone to use them (in fact a spirit guide flew back through the Ningenkai one at that very moment) while the third was just a blank broken looking hole, the old passageway to the Meikai. Botan was waiting at the Makai portal. Koenma nodded to her.  
  
"Right," she said, and close her eyes for a moment. The portal highlighted for a moment, then settled back again. "It's all ready for you now, the portal will take you to Mukuro's castle. Oh and guys," she looked at each of them carefully, "you all do have your communicators, right? I want to know what's going on down there you know. All right, step right on up. Oh and, please do hurry up with whatever you're going to do. I don't want anyone vanishing, oh and those poor souls," she put her hand up to her lips but said no more.  
  
Koenma broke in, turning to Yusuke. "This portal will not feel like any other that you've used. It has the ability to tap into a multitude of portals all over Makai, so it is more like traveling a network than simply appearing in a different place than you started from. Oh and Hiei," he turned to the demon who turned away with a sigh of disgust.  
  
"Yes, I know that Kayle will guide us into the Farlands, you've no need to worry about that."  
  
Then they all stepped into the portal.  
  
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It was like a moving walkway inside a glass tube. The four could see slightly darker tunnels branching off of their path as they slid slowly down. Specks of light flowed in many of them, indicating ferry guides coming back or going to other customers. The tunnel began moving faster, sliding the Tantei like a marble rolling down a track. Veering to the left they picked up more speed, a constant acceleration. It was like moving through the veins of some huge entity: bright light, specks of life, speeding, speeding, half there. Yusuke looked down at his hand. It seemed to be disappearing and reappearing at the same time.  
  
Then it was over.  
  
Mukuro stood at the other end, waiting patiently for them Kuwabara to finish his rant about weird portals before addressing them.  
  
"So, you're finally here. You can show my guests to their rooms now, Hiei. I will talk to you all during lunch."  
  
Hiei tried to growl at her but she turned away and sat at her desk, indicating that they should leave immediately. The others started toward the door but Hiei strode up to her desk and slammed his hand down on the table.  
  
"I am *not* your butler, Mukuro!"  
  
"Well, for now I guess you are," she said, waving a hand at him. "I suggest that you leave or I might not be in a good mood for questioning later." Hiei huffed angrily at her but composed himself and strode out the door, motioning for the others to follow. Kuwabara and Yusuke snickered quietly to themselves while Kurama turned an apologetic face to the smaller demon's boss, who in turn gave him a small triumphant smile, before following their friend down the hallway.  
  
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"Do you really think they'll find out what's wrong?" Botan asked worriedly.  
  
Koenma stood as tall as he could in his current form. "I really think they will. They've never failed before (though they've come close)"  
  
"Oh, I do hope you're right. I'm scared, I really am. Over the past week Akia's list has barely been filling in at all, she's been so sick lately! If she vanishes. oh my gosh, I can't believe this is really happening." She hugged herself, holding back a sob. 'What if the girls really do start to vanish? Oh my gosh, what then?' Koenma noticed her worry and changed into his teenage form, allowing her to lean on his shoulder.  
  
"Botan, you of all people have to keep faith. It's imperative that the other girls don't see you worrying."  
  
A cry broke his thoughts. "Botan! Botan what's wrong dear" The two looked up to Ophelia, who's bright yellow eyes were filled with worry. "Did Koenma do something to upset you?"  
  
"No, no, I'm fine." Botan started, but Koenma cut her short.  
  
"Botan is just tired, Ophelia. I'm going to let her rest in my room so that she'll be up to her next customer."  
  
"But."  
  
"She will be fine, Ophelia, just fine. Please go back to your work. I'll be back in my office in a minute. Please just go."  
  
Koenma gently guided an astonished Botan out of the portal room and into the hallway leading to his own quarters.  
  
Ophelia just stared.  
  
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Know what I'm gonna try to do? Order my separators! Yes, if I remember to do so, you will now exactly how each part connects to the next.! It'll go like this:  
  
----------------------- = change in place  
  
* * * =change in time  
  
-----------------------  
  
* * *  
  
------------------------ = next day usually  
  
It is kinda hard to figure out exactly which symbol to put, but I will try my best! Until next time, yippee! I finished another chapter that took way to long to write!!!!!!  
  
And thank you reviewers so much for keeping me writing! Hassle me as much as you like, it worked! 


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